TIRUCHI
Moved by the plight of the poor during the lockdown, a village panchayat president in Tiruchi district has opened an idli shop in his village and sells idlis at ₹1 apiece.
The shop has proved a hit straightaway, selling about 675 idlis on the opening day on Friday and 625 on Saturday.
M.Palanisamy (48), president of the Venkatachalapuram village panchayat in Pullampadi union in the district, the man behind the venture, says he now intends to fund the initiative for his lifetime.
“Our village does not have a hotel. It has only a tea shop. I realised the difficulty of elders, destitutes and persons with disabilities during this lockdown and felt it would be of much help to them if they at least get a good breakfast at an affordable price. Some old age pensioners in my village are not even able to cook for themselves due to frail health,” he said, explaining the motivation behind his venture.
Landless poor and agricultural labourers constitute a majority of the population in the village, with a sizeable population of Dalits.
A common panchayat owned building, Kamarajar Mandram , used as a reading room and hang out by the villagers, has been given a make over to set up the Kamarajar Unavagam .
“I have appointed a cook [at a salary of ₹9,000], who would prepare the idli batter the previous evening and start making the idlis right from 5.30 a.m. the next day. Idlis will be available till 9 a.m.,” says Mr.Palanisamy. Benches have been provided around for people to sit and eat.
Though parcels are not allowed, customers can take home idlis strictly for their family members, provided they bring containers to carry them.
“The shop has come as big help. I have no income and live on the support of my parents. We could feed our kids at just ₹5 now. The breakfast is good and filling,” said V.Saraswati (31), a widow who lives in the village taking care of her aged in-laws.
A businessman with varied interests, Mr.Palanisamy had started his career early as an artist painting advertisements on walls. Today he has a team of artists working under him across the State. He also owns a flex board printing unit and a tinkering unit in Tiruchi, besides a car accessories shop in Karur.
Mr.Palanisamy intends to run the shop on the lines of the Amma Unavagams, which cater to the urban poor.
“This is probably the first such attempt to serve the rural poor,” he says and adds that he would be willing to consider expanding the scope of the initiative to provide affordable lunch or dinner if donors came forward to support it.
